Abstract

Solitonic mode-locking in broad band lasers such as Ti:Sapphire has led to increasingly shorter pulses in the near infrared. Absorption modulation in soliton lasers, either through the ultra-fast Kerr lens or from a saturable resonant absorber, is necessary to stabilise the soliton pulses against growth of dispersive radiation which would finally deplete the laser gain and cease mode-locking. It was pointed out [1] that the solitons are more stable than pulses created by mere absorption modulation and can be stabilised by absorber recovery times in excess of 10 times longer than the pulse width itself, depending on other parameters. This allows for the use of slower absorbers, thereby improving the lasers’ self-starting behaviour. The latter is the main detriment of the ultra-fast Kerr-lens.

© 1998 IEEE